Latest WhatsApp Desktop from App Store crashes on High Sierra

Question

WhatsApp Desktop from the Mac App Store no longer launches after the July 20, 2020 update to version 2.2029.4.

System information: MacOS 10.13.6 High Sierra with all system updates installed WhatsApp for Mac 2.2029.4 (Mac App Store installation)

Symptoms: A white screen opens then a message briefly appears "WhatsApp needed to restart because of a problem." The application then quits. Sometimes it is accompanied by a Mac crash report.

Troubleshooting steps:

• Deleting and reinstalling from the Mac App store does not resolve
• Deleting ~/Library/Containers/desktop.WhatsApp and relaunching does not resolve

Answer 1

Updating to version 2.2029.5 released today fixed everything, it was indeed a bug on their previous build.